It’s time to chat…examining the customer experience during an online live chat service encounter

Many organisations are now providing customer service and related support online, mostly through 'live chat' (instant messaging) interfaces. Online support services are believed to offer organisations an efficient and cost-effective means of providing customer support, however we have little understanding on what influences a customer's experience during such a service encounter in this technological environment. This paper explores the customer experience during an online service encounter with a human service representative through live chat technology. The aim of this research is to understand the variables that can influence the customer experience during an online live chat service encounter